The Saints are currently doing business on two fronts as they sit ninth in the league table and enjoyed a 2-1 win against Italian giants Inter Milan in European competition on Thursday night.

They arrive in East Yorkshire in good form, and Phelan believes his players will be coming up against a club that is on the up.

“Southampton have a squad that is comparable to any top team in the Premier League,” said Phelan.

“They were able to make five changes on Thursday night. I’m sure that wasn’t with us in mind, but they could do it because of the size and quality of the squad that they’ve got.

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Hull and Mike Phelan are aiming to end a run of six straight Premier League games

“Southampton are a club that is on the up and a team that is playing very well, so we will have to be at our best”

Hull boss Mike Phelan on Southampton

“I watched their game with Inter Milan and it was interesting. They’re a club that is on the up and a team that is playing very well, so we will have to be at our best to be competitive against them.

“We’re under no illusions about the task and what is demanded of us at this level. We’ve performed in some games and in others we haven’t.

“We’re at home this weekend and it’s an opportunity to show our worth and try and get a result.”

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Southampton boss Claude Puel takes his improved side to take on Mike Phelan's Hull

A result against Southampton would stop the Tigers from setting an unwanted club record of seven straight top flight defeats and Phelan says avoiding that record should provide added motivation for his players.

“We should use that as motivation – it’s a club record we don’t want,” added Phelan.

“However, it’s not too long ago that we set a different sort of record for our start to the season at this level, so from that we’ve shown that we can win games at this level.

“Our players know that they’re capable of giving anybody a game at this level.”